Michael Swickard's new novel about New Mexico

From KOAT-TV.com - by Megan Cruz - The playing field for Tesla's battery factory is about to go from four states to at least two, according to published reports.Gov. Susana Martinez said she's hearing New Mexico is in the running.

"They are considering New Mexico," she said. "We are one of those states that they're considering, but the site selector won't give us a whole lot more than that." According to Bloomberg News, Tesla will choose sites in at least two states. The company's CEO said crews will do everything short of breaking ground. Whichever site has less setbacks will be the factory's final location. "We may not build it and see if they come, but we'll give them our word on anything we negotiated and we will follow through with that word because we want them here in New Mexico," said Martinez. Timing is of the essence for Tesla. The car manufacturer wants to launch a line of affordable cars in three years. It'll need the battery plant to do that. "Whether it's infrastructure or roadways or anything that may help the plant be accessible, and make sure they're up and running as fast as possible," said Martinez. Martinez does not know when Tesla will choose the two states. The plant will about cost $5 billion to build and will employ 6,500 people. More